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Friday, February 12, 2010

After researching the swagbucks site and asking a lot of questions, I have signed up at swagbucks. com. This is an amazing opportunity to rack up swags (e-dollars) to buy items online. There is a section in the store to purchase amazon gift cards as well as other well known retailers.

I have started my holiday shopping. In less than a month I have 84 swagbucks. When I hit 90 I can 'buy' 2 5.00 Amazon gift cards. I'm paying for our garden seeds with these cards.

Valentine's Day is one of my favorite celebrations. Even though we show our loved ones our feelings all year long, this day is an opportunity to create comforting memories. Some frugal people pooh pooh Valentine, but I see it as an opportunity to enhance a relationship.

Here's some ideas to celebrate without breaking your budget.

One flower tied in a bow and placed at the recipient's place at the dinner table is a surprise that can bring a warm smile. The smile warms the heart of the giver. Both of these are a gift.

Cut a piece of paper in the form of a heart and write a note describing how much you love your spouse / boyfriend, etc.

Make brownies and layer with a favorite frosting. Draw hearts in the frosting with a toothpick.

Create a coupon for a free night of man movies without pouting. If you are male, make a coupon that says you will watch a chick flick with your partner without being 'distracted'.

This list should get your creative juices flowing. The list could be endless and the effort appreciated by everyone.

Years ago I came across a blog on www.msn.com's money and finance page. The blog is called SMART SPENDING. Donna Freedman writes the articles.

Donna had a difficult life raising a daughter on her own with little education. Donna supported her daughter by thinking out side of the box. The end result was she landed a gig with MSN online sharing her tactics with readers.

Through the years Donna has documented a plethora of helpful information on her blog. I would suggest to anyone who is serious about reining in their budget read through Donna's articles and choose what would work in your situation.

Congratulations are in order for Donna because she just earned her 4 year degree.

A friend, Teresa, called me after reading yesterday's post. She has 4 children, three of them teenage sons. Teenage sons can eat all day, every day. There seems to be no end to their hunger.

Teresa became creative while solving the problem of feeding her family and staying within budget.

The problem was each of her sons would eat 2 -3 chicken breasts at a time. That's 6 - 9 breasts per meal. There are three other members in her family, so the cost was becoming prohibitive. Teresa wanted to serve healthy food so she came up with this idea.

She now serves one chicken breast per person. Teresa simply pounds the meat with a meat tenderizer hammer which makes it slender, but stretches it out. The appearance is large on the plate. This satisfies her growing men. The chicken appears to be large and their tummys are fooled - and satisfied. Hammering the meat also makes it more tender. ( I use a can of veggies to do this)

Teresa also stretches chicken by cutting it in small pieces and adding it to a favorite recipe such as Mexican dishes.

Thank you Teresa for the suggestion. It's one I haven't thought of.

Do you have a trick you use when cooking to make food go further? Please share it with us.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Menus are an important part of the frugal lifestyle. After a while you'll know what your family will eat and the written menus tend to go to the wayside. But until this time, I suggest you rely on writing out weekly menus.

To plan a menu with the sales in your area simply check out the sales and the coupons and rebates you have for the sale items and jot down dinner meals for the week. The time it takes depends on your schedule. I take a bit longer because I am retired and can go through the task in a leisurely manner. A young mother who is at the mercy of a baby's schedule most likely won't have as much time. You'll come up with a routine that works for you.

A typical meal would contain the 4 food groups and look something like this:

Monday (dinner)

Roasted chicken Roasted potatoesGreen beansPlumsMilkChocolate pudding

Tuesday's lunches would contain chicken salad sandwiches.

The chicken can be used later in the week as a soup or hot sandwiches and gravy.

Or it can be frozen for additional meals later on. The chicken is used because it is on sale as are the potatoes. Chicken on sale for 49 cents a pound as opposed to 1.19 a pound will save 3.50 on a five pound bird. If the potatoes are BOGO at 4.00 for a 5 pound bag, (this is a common lost leader item) the savings is an additional 4.00 for 5 meals. A savings of 7.50 is rather significant. Add these savings up over a month and your grocery bill has noticeably been reduced.

So give it a try. If you work outside of the home, take a few minutes at lunch to plan your meals. If you put the savings in a jar or an account, there will be a visual resource that will empower you to continue saving. At the end of the year, I see a nice little vacation for the whole family.

About Me

Home and hearth is the center of my life. Cooking, gardening, and (yes) cleaning make me happy. My large family keeps me hopping and I love every minute of it. I think I was born with a frugal outlook and get excited about anything frugal. I like to share frugal tips and experiment with new ideas in the kitchen. Creativity is not a gift of mine so my only craft is crocheting and sometimes sewing. I admire those who can see life in a creative manner.